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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: craft · march · fork · club · rush · wound · mug · tube

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. mug — to rob
  3. craft — a skill
  4. mug — a face
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. craft — boats
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. wound — an injury
  9. rush — hurry
  10. tube — the underground
  11. march — music
  12. club — a group
  13. wound — an injury
  14. fork — in a road
  15. march — the month
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. march — the month
  18. club — for dancing
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. tube — a container
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. club — for golf
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. rush — a thrill

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com